I'm in search of cool...

Yes, I'm in search of cool!  Apparently.  

My name is Melinda Barton and I am enrolled in Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) Graduate Entry.  I completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Microbiology in 1988 and due to parental pressure, went on to complete an Honours project in 1989.  I received First Class Honours for my troubles but the experience firmly convinced me that a researcher I am not.  After 8 years in an industrial microbiology and chemistry laboratory, I applied for a job as a recruiter with a science and technology recruitment company and spent the next 15 years in the mad world of corporate and academic recruitment, working with scientists of all types from metallurgists to biochemists in both private industry and Academia.  It was a great job as it allowed me to use both my science AND my people skills.  
In this time, I had 2 boys and in 2013, my husband, the boys and I moved from the Sunshine Coast of Qld to Dubbo in Central West NSW, to be closer to family.  Many people thought, and still think, that I need my head read but we love living here and don't really miss the Coast at all.  

view from my desk...

Another great reason to live in the country...if only I had more time

The move prompted a career change and I worked for just over 3 years in the VET (vocational education and training) industry where I was able to complete my Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and became interested in education.  A chance discussion with the Principal at my boys' school on the challenges in science education in Regional NSW saw me deciding to put my money where my mouth is and enrol in Teaching at CSU.  As I work full time and have two teenagers ruling my life, I have only completed 2 subjects so far and have no teaching or classroom experience at all...a long way to go!!

 Why Classroom Technologies?  When I worked in the VET industry for an RTO (registered training organisation), we were delivering online training using Moodle, and I became intrigued by the particular challenges associated with engaging in online learning. My children (who are 13 and 16) are, of course, permanently glued to some type of technology and use it in a range of different ways at their school.  I do think though, as a parent, that there is not quite enough innovation in this space amongst teachers so I am keen to learn what I might be able to do better.  From what my kids report, there is a massive problem with disengagement in science at school and considering the devotion that today's youth have to technology, I consider that it will be an important tool in keeping them enthused.  

So, you may ask, why am I in search of cool??  Let me share with you all a discussion that I had with my 'nearly 14' year old son the other night.  He desperately wants me to come and teach at his school, but he is terrified that I might not be a 'cool' teacher and that the kids won't like me.  I've tried to tell him that not everybody is going to like me but he has taken it upon himself to try and train me up a bit so that when I eventually get there, I'll be assured of being 'cool' and hence adored by all. Thus I keep getting advice on not being too strict and how to not let them get out of control.  It's hilarious.  However, this is actually symptomatic of what is going on for him.  He has started Year 8 this year and has a Science teacher who is evidently hell bent on stamping her authority on the class from the start.  She is young, obviously determined to have order, and is trying very hard to be super strict.  It's going very badly.  The stricter she tries to be, the more chaos ensues and to be honest, by Week 4, it sounds like a bit of a free-for-all.  Unfortunately, they are doing cells and reproduction, always tricky with 13 and 14 year olds. But the bigger problem is her delivery. She is very traditional, standing out the front and talking and making them copy from slides on the IWB...no inquiry based learning here. Nothing to DO.  But wait...they've done a practical session...making...wait for it...sperm out of pom poms and pipe cleaners!!!  I'll let you imagine how well that went.  

So, you see, my teacher education is coming from multiple sources.  I'm learning about pedagogy and tools and curriculum and programming, in a mature and formal setting but I'm also getting a fabulous education right here at home in what I need to do to be 'cool' and in what does and doesn't work with teenagers. Priceless.

I'm really looking forward to this subject because our students are going to be so tech savvy and so switched on - we need all the help we can get to help them to use the technology to enrich and engage and enthuse.  And, of course, to help us be 'cool'.